Why you should care

In recent years, investors from Angola, former colony of Portugal, have bought significant chunks of Portuguese companies. Spanish officials are urging their counterparts in South America and Latin America to come invest — never mind the conquest. And an exodus of bright, young Portuguese seeks opportunity abroad — often in former Portuguese colonies like Brazil, Angola and even East Timor. It’s a significant reversal from decades past, when former colonies went begging their former masters for investment, aid and trade preferences, while stomaching the brain drain of their best-educated graduates. Some former colonies have now become emerging markets, logging fast rates of growth, while the imperialists are scrambling to stay afloat in the global recession. Read the story here.

Remember mega-companies like Infosys and Wipro, which rode the software service tidal wave that took India by storm more than two decades ago? Well, in a swiftly changing tech landscape, the old Bangalore guard is tryna pull a 50 Cent and stay relevant. Innovative, product-driven business is the new name of the game — and young, agile startups like Flipkart and ZipDial are the flag bearers. Here are the established multinationals and budding startups worth training your eyes on. Read the story here.

Despite notoriously clogged bureaucratic arteries, Brazil is fertile soil for a blooming startup scene. But in order to better appreciate the hot new foot soldiers, you have to know the caudillos of classic Brazilian capitalism. What these industry leaders lack in sex appeal, they make up for in sheer power and influence. Chances are, the meat in an American hamburger, the iron ore in a Chinese skyscraper and the jet flying you from Berlin to Munich have one thing in common — their companies are here. Read the story here.

China’s economy, the second largest in the world, is increasingly powered by technology — just like the rest of us. But because China essentially has two Internets, its tech companies have had relatively unchallenged access to 632 million (and growing) Internet users. From mobile phones to antivirus software to online dating, these six companies may soon be in your (virtual) backyard. Read the story here.

In April, Nigeria’s GDP jumped 86 percent overnight, thanks to a switch-up in calculation methods, and its $510 billion economy is now considered Africa’s largest. Accounting feats aside, the world’s sixth-largest oil producer has diversified somewhat, playing host to a blossoming startup scene and manufacturing revolution. Think Africa’s Amazon.com, Nollywood’s Netflix and more. Of course, no balance-sheet revision could remove the massive obstacles faced by the new BRIC, but an array of protectionist reforms will buffer these industry leaders, allowing them crucial space to prosper. Read the story here.